Textile Design and Engineering

A Brief Discussion About Basic Textile Design and Engineering With Best Practices and Tips, Roles of Textile Designers and Engineers

Textile or textiles: A textile was originally a woven fabric, but the terms textile and the plural textiles are now also applied to fibers, filaments and yarns, natural and manufactured, and most products for which these are a principal raw material. This definition of textile/textiles embraces, for example, fiber-based products in the following categories: threads, cords, ropes and braids; woven, knitted and nonwoven fabrics, lace, nets and embroidery; hosiery, knitwear and made-up apparel; household textiles, soft furnishings and upholstery; carpets and other floorcoverings; technical, industrial and engineering textiles, including geotextiles and medical textiles. Basic textiles elements: Textile is a very widely used term which includes:1) All kinds of fibers (e.g. Cotton, Jute, Wool, Viscose etc.) 2) All kinds of process (e.g. Spinning, Weaving, Knitting, Dyeing, Printing, Finishing etc.) 3) All kinds of machineries (e.g. Spinning Machineries, Weaving Machineries, Knitting Machineries etc.) 4) To convert textile fiber into finished or end use products (e.g. Garments, Furnishing Materials, Household Textiles, Medical Textiles, Shoes textiles, Fishing nets etc.)Textile design definition: The creative process leading to structures, patterns and colors in textile materials, implemented to achieve aesthetic appeal, function and cost targets is known as textile design. In another words, textile design is the developed specification for a textile material or product. Related subsidiary terms are, for example, yarn design, woven/knitted fabric design, fabric construction, print design, garment design, fashion design. Basic methods of design: As we know, there are basically two types of textile fabric, one is woven fabric and the other is knitted fabric. So, the method of textile design is of two types. These are described as : 1. (Weaving) Paper ruled with vertical and horizontal lines in a manner suitable for showing weaves and designs. Generally, each space between vertical lines represents one end and each space between horizontal lines represents one pick. The design paper commonly used has equally spaced fine rulings, with heavy over ruling in blocks of eight by eight. For figured designs, other rulings may be used; for example, in jacquard designs, it is convenient to use these rulings according to (i) the number of needles in the short row, and (ii) the ratio of numbers of ends to picks per length, the objects being (a) to facilitate card cutting, and (b) to ensure that the design is represented in the correct proportion, width to length. 2. (Knitting) Paper printed with a series of horizontal and vertical lines, dots or other shapes representing a ground structure on which the draft of a design is plotted. Description of woven cloth structure and design: Foundation of woven cloth structure:Variation of woven cloth structure depends on following foundational factors: 1.The nature of yarns used. 2. The count of relative thickness of the yarns used as warp and weft. 3. The relative setting, or the number of ends or picks, which are placed side by side in a given width and length of the cloth. 4. The order of interlacing the ends and picks. 5. Modification produced by finishing.Classification or parts of a complete design for a woven fabric: A complete design for a woven fabric consists of three parts as follows: 1. The weave plan: It illustrates the interlacing of ends and picks in the fabric under consideration. In the weave plan, space between two vertical lines indicates as warp yarn and space between two horizontal lines indicates as weft yarn. 2. The drafting or looming plan: A draft indicates the number of heald, used to produce a given design and the order in which the warp threads or ends are threaded through the mail eyes of the healds. In the drafting plan, space between two vertical lines indicates as warp yarn ann space between two horizontal lines indicates as heald shaft. 3. The lifting or peg plan: Lifting plan defines the selection of healds to be raised or lowered on each successive insertion of the pick of weft to produce the pattern. 4. Denting plan: This indicates the order of drawing-in the warp threads or ends through the dents of reed. Various methods of indicating drafts: 1) By ruling lines, 2) By numbering, 3) By the use of design paper. System of drafting and classification of drafting: 1) Straight draft (or entering), 2) Point draft, 3) Skip draft, 4) Broken draft, 5) Divided draft, 6) Grouped draft, 7) Curved draft, 8) Combined draft. Why drafting is important?The basic weaves or structures of woven fabric: Woven fabric structure is defined as the interlacement of warp and weft yarn at 90° angles to each other. It is also called weave structure. The number of weave structures that can be produced is practically unlimited. Three types of form the basis of even the most complex weaves. Known as basic weaves, these are plain weave, the twill weave and the satin weave. All structures can be derived from the three basic weaves: Plain, Twill and Satin/Sateen. Most two dimensional woven fabrics are constructed from simple weaves and of these at least 90% use plain weave. Description of knitted cloth structure and design: 1. Knitting: In knitting, the fabric is formed by intermeshing loops of a single yarn or set of yarns together. The structure and design of knitted fabrics differs vastly from woven fabrics. 2. Knitted fabrics are divided into two main groups, weft and warp knitted fabrics. Weft Knitting: In a weft knitted structure, a horizontal row of loop can be made by using one thread and the thread runs in horizontal direction. Warp knitting: In a warp knitted structure, each loop in the horizontal direction is made from a different thread and the number of threads used to produce such a fabric is least equal to the number of loops in vertical direction. Features of weft knitting: 1. The loops are produced to the width of fabric., 2. It is elastic to the width., 3. Its elasticity is less., 4. Less shrinkage., 5. Course is equal to the pattern., 6. Yarns are supplied from cone., 7. At least one yarn is needed for each needle., 8. Creating fabric by this method is suitable to dry wash., 9. All kinds of design is complex., 10. It is suitable for producing thin fabric. Features of warp knitting:, 1. The loops are produced to the length of fabric., 2. It is elastic to the width., 3. Its elasticity is high., 4. Higher shrinkage., 5. More courses are needed for each pattern row., 6. Yarns are supplied from beam., 7. Any number of needle is needed for one yarn., 8. Hand wash is suitable., 9. Any design is done easily.10. It is especially suitable for producing coarse fabric. To remind you, Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn is used to create a cloth. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them. This process eventually results in a fabric, often used for garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machineTextile engineering: The term Textile Engineering is related with all the procedures from collecting fiber to preparing the final and finished product. There are mainly 4 sectors in textile engineering, which are as follows: 1) Yarn Manufacturing or Spinning, 2) Fabric Manufacturing, 3) Wet Processing, 4) Garments Manufacturing. A brief description for each of the 4 sectors above are given as: 1) Yarn Manufacturing or Spinning: We can simply say about yarn manufacturing and spinning that it is the process of preparing yarn from raw materials i.e. fibers. Different raw materials are used for producing different types of yarns. Cotton, Jute, Viscose, Rayon, Nylon etc. are some examples of different types of yarn. Method of spinning varies upon the types of yarns to be produced. 2) Fabric Manufacturing: It is the procedure of preparing cloth by the interlacing or intermeshing of yarns produced from spinning process. The procedure of fabric manufacturing is generally of two types- One is weaving, which is a very age old process; and the other one is knitting, which is vastly used throughout the world for preparing knitted cloth. The procedure and machineries of weaving and knitting process are completely different from each other. 3) Wet Processing: This term generally used to denote an aqueous treatment of textile materials, e.g. bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing. Without wet processing, a cloth is not usable indeed. In wet processing, Water and many different types of chemicals are used by maintaining a certain recipe, which depends upon the types of the raw material of the fabric. Very sensitive, important and expensive procedures are to be performed in this section of textile engineering.4) Garments Manufacturing: Garments or apparel manufacturing is the process of preparing our wearing clothes or accessories from both woven and knitted fabrics. It is almost the last stage of textile engineering, and also the easier section to handle in comparison with the other sections. The number and cost of machineries of garments manufacturing are comparatively cheap. Different processes of garments manufacturing are- design making, pattern making, marker making, fabric spreading, cutting, sewing, ironing, finishing etc. Some examples of finished products of garments or apparel manufacturing are- Shirt, pant, T-shirt, skirt, tops, jacket, sweater, lingerie etc. Garments are made of different sizes for various body types of people. Garments manufacturing has now created vast earning facilities for many developing and under developed countries.What makes a textile design good? Textile design can be of many different types. Most of them are related with the outer appearance of a textile material. Some of them are related with the core structure of a textile product. A textile designer can make the design of a textile product good to look at by applying several techniques. He can change the fabric structure and design while the weaving or knitting process takes place. After weaving or knitting, some external changes can be made to the outlook of the textile product in order to create a good design. These changes can be made in the wet processing or garments manufacturing sections. What does a textile designer do? How it differs from the job of textile engineer? A textile designer deals only with the properties related with the appearance of a textile material. He has to gather proper knowledge over all the possible design facilities to be applied on a textile product. But he does not have to think about the aesthetic properties or wearing abilities of textile products. A textile engineer deals with all the operational methods which make effect over the usability of that relevant textile product. He takes in consideration the methods of processing the textile product rather than its appearance. What is good textile engineering? Good textile engineering means the successful dealing with the raw materials of textile manufacturing by reducing excessive unwanted cost while processing. It is very much essential in all textile manufacturing houses.What are smart textiles, materials and fabrics for fashion design? Smart textiles means the use of textile fibers in some special operative purposes. It is also known as E-textiles. Smart textiles, materials and fabrics are mainly used in nanotechnology. Metallic fibers or optical fibers are used in this case. In fashion design, smart textiles are also used in order to create exceptional appearance or look. To integrate with modern electronic devices like iPod, iPad, iPhone etc. smart textiles are used with our regular dresses or apparels. Some other uses of smart textiles are applied in- medical, defense, sportswear, transport etc. Are there any specialized fabrics or textiles for different applications? Specialized textiles mean the textile products which are aimed at performing some definite tasks which are exceptional from the general tasks. Some examples of specialized textiles are- surgical textiles, raincoat fabrics, nanofibers, home textiles, textile materials which are used in civil engineering etc.What is the importance of textile design and engineering? Will this sector grow in future? Suggestions for textile designers and engineers. The importance of textile design and engineering is growing higher day by day. The buyers are now ordering for more sophisticated and unique design, which has made the work of textile designers and engineers more competitive. The future prospect of this sector is very bright. The new textile designers and engineers have to work hard to gather much experience about the present market need. They have to apply their creativity at its best, so that they can help to improve the textile sector to grow significantly. Exerpt:Textile or textiles: A textile was originally a woven fabric, but the terms textile and the plural textiles are now also applied to fibers, filaments and yarns, natural and manufactured, and most products for which these are a principal raw material. This definition of textile/textiles embraces, for example, fiber-based products in the following categories: threads, cords, ropes and braids; woven, knitted and nonwoven fabrics, lace, nets and embroidery; hosiery, knitwear and made-up apparel; hou..